Random stuff...

The other night Smap and I were watching some TV, and he started checking out this blog. Funny, I had no idea he actually checks it regularly....I'm glad. Perhaps he will surprise us with an entry!!! Fingers are crossed. Speaking of TV. I use to be a huge TV fan in the old days, but lately as I get older I prefer to read. Yes, I do have some shows I do watch. Smap and I really enjoy LOST. Even though I am always "LOST"....pretty much because I can't seem to stay awake long enough to watch the entire show. We also like Survivor. I have loved it since day 1. When I worked at Dagger back in the day, there were some of us at our office that always had a bet. We got to choose 2 people out of the hat (we had to put money in for each person). Anyway, I have missed a few seasons due to school back in 04 and 05, but I am back on it now. I think I would be an ideal person for the show, but Smap thinks I wouldn't last a day due to my unfortunate never-ending ability to go without food for more than four hours. Also, my inability to tolerate disturbances while I sleep. Funny story....we were camping down at the Ocoee for that Black Bear Rampage, and the first night we were in the campground there were about 15 college coeds partying across the campground from us. Well, around 1:30 am I decided I had had enough. I snuck out of the tent (smap would have NEVER let me go say anything) and went over to tell the college kids to be quiet. The girls got quiet, but the boys persisted and even started doing crap to piss me off even more. So, I got up and snuck out of the tent 1/2 an hour later and went over to this time to do some scare tactics (act like I am going to call the rangers)...anyway, to make a long story short, the stupid sorority biaches came after me...they tried to scare me, but what happened just made a funny story for the morning.

Come to find out, the next morning I started talking to the camping couples next to us and they were glad I said something. Smap was pissed, but he got over it. I learned a lesson not to do that again...go over to someone's campground in the middle of the night (because they could pull a weapon or create even more drama), and in the end the Rangers were called on them anyways and they got a lecture the next day by a ranger. So, the next night (the night before the race) we got a really nice night's sleep...ha ha ha..

Well, this was a random post. I hope to have something more interesting by the end of the weekend. It looks like very decent weather. Still no Haw Ridge in the future (still too wet). Smap is probably paddling Saturday. I will be on the road bike and hopefully my single speed.

Cheers!

Tuesday and getting colder.

This shot is of one of the weinie roasts after riding Haw Ridge on a Wednesday night....can't wait for these days to hurry and be here...

Global warming is pissing me off....warm one day, freezing the next. I miss the old days when the weather was at least consistent. It would be cold for weeks straight, then warm up and then stay warm, and then it would get hot. The weather is just so wacked out now. Crazy.

Yesterday I got out of school and got on my bike and rode down to the Cherokee Boulevard. I did some laps and rode back. I don't think I got cold one time. Sunday, same thing except I swam for an hour prior to riding. I really miss riding every single day and I REALLY MISS riding my single speed out at Haw Ridge. I am so looking forward to the day when I can ride out there again and it isn't a muddy slop fest.

I enjoyed my two days off last week due to the flu outbreak. Now I am hoping for some snow. I have some kids and their parents that are just ridiculous. I am looking forward to being done with some of these kids this year.

Got to go do a snow dance. Actually, got to go watch Smap at his drum practice....(he is learning how to play the bongo type drums)...We went to Asheville last summer and ran into the drum circle. I danced and he watched for over an hour, so ever since he has wanted to learn. Now he is...too cool. Actually not so cool when we are in the house and it echos in our eardrums (mine and Ippon's).

Later!

I'm bored.

I just can't wait for it to start getting warmer and a little dryer.  I am so ready for some really long bike rides, and some Haw Ridge riding.  I am seriously having withdraws now.  I need some technical riding.  The Cohutta is coming up fast as well as the regular racing season.  I need to be on my single speed in order to have the training I feel I need for racing both road and mountain.  We'll see.  

My dog is feeling a lot better.  He didn't wake me up at all last night to go out.  I am so glad.  I hate seeing him sick.  He had the poops for two straight days.  

Well, I am hoping the sun will come out at some point today.  I have been invited to go on several different rides, but I am thinking a solo road ride sounds best.  I want to get a lot of miles in...50+....I just don't feel like 30 or 40 is long anymore.  I want to do a lot of really LONG rides.  I don't care if they are slow or fast.  I just want to be out there.

Maybe I will break out the camera today along the ride.  Perhaps another farm stop-in?  We'll see... I need to do something.

Snow days....I mean flu days!

Finally Knox County schools are OUT!!! For two days! Smap was kind of sad because he NEVER takes off work. He is probably the hardest working person I have ever met. He has the BEST work ethic too. I found out that Knox County called out schools last night when our friend Tim ran into us at our favorite Mexican eatery in Rocky Hill. Tim saw us pull in, so he pulled in behind us to say howdy. He told me he heard we have the next two days off!!! I tried to celebrate by drinking a margarita, but that just made me feel ill. Marg's are just too sweet for my taste. I can drink them on special occasions. I really like La Costa's Pomagranite Marg, but sweet server talked me into a passion fruit one (they didn't have Pom). It was extremely sweet. I drank it though. After that, I was done. I am so glad I am not a hard liquor drinker. I'm really not much of a beer drinker anymore either. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE some good tasting beer, but I can't remember the last time I got drunk off of it....uggggg.....the thought just kills me.

Anyway, to make Smap feel better about me having the next two days off, I told him I would clean out the pantry. It is sooo gross. I am actually taking a break from doing it right now because I am about to venture into the nasty cleaning part. Still a lot to go though.

Our poor sweet baby got some kind of intestinal flu last night. He had to go outside just about every hour last night. Poor thing. Between the two of us, we must have let poor Ippon out 10 times between midnight and 6 this morning. He is so tired now. Sleeping soundly. It is good that I am home with him today so I can take care of him. I can't stand seeing him sick.

I will probably take some sort of long nap today since I was up all night off and on with my pup. I hope to get things cleaned up around the house. I am a dust slacker. I hate dusting so I hardly ever do it. I may just save that for tomorrow.

Boring stuff today I know. Maybe I will get a swim in at some point. It is suppose to rain soon, so that is out. I did get a fun solo greenway ride in yesterday from our house. We have some great greenways in K-town now. I rode all the way down to Tyson Park to check out the skaters at the new skate park. It is so cool. I so wish they had that when I was a kid. My brother and I would have been there ALL the time. Josh was an awesome skater. I loved just hanging out with those types of guys. We had a quarter pipe in our driveway. It was HUGE. My mom would make anyone wanting to skate it bring a note from a parent. She was smart. I got injured on it a few times. I loved it though. It was a sad day when we had to take it down. Our stupid neighbors signed a petition saying we needed to get rid of it.

Anyway, rambling again, so it is time to get back to working on the pantry. LOVE THE FLU DAYS!!!!

Rach-L

My Mom and Sam

My Mom and Sam are very athletic. They ski somewhere every year. This year they were back in Telluride. It looks beautiful. Maybe next year!!!!

Check it!!!! New Apple laptop fun...

What the heck am I looking at?? Not sure.  I was just playing around.
This is one of my all time favorite shots.  My dad took this at my little brother's birthday dinner at Litton's in 01'.  I guess that would have made Nic 14 or 15....crazy...  This is actually one of our first "couple shots" ever.
Yeah, we don't have a scanner, so I am taking advantage of the little camera on the computer.  Here he is, Mr. Hottie.  I think he looks modelish here.  We were camping either at the Nanty or the Ocoee back when this was shot in 01'.  Pretty cool...
Of course I had to add one of the grotesque shots in with the others.  I love the distorted look!  I have never laughed so hard in my life than when I was at the first SORBA meeting last year with Jimi Flynt. She had just purchased this same computer we have, and we were getting bored, so she started taking some shots of us all standing around us.  We were pissing in our pants it was so funny.. He he he he.  I sent my brother and sister in law the shots and they quickly discovered the photo booth on their newly purchased apple laptop.  Fun times.....

Bla weekend...

Unfortunately for me, I had to work at the bike shop all day long yesterday.  The weather yesterday proved to make a great day for riding and I was stuck inside.  I had a good time though.  Smap made it out to Haw Ridge and said it was a bit too greasy.  That made me feel better.  If the trails were "perfect", then I would have been pissed to have missed such an opportunity to ride.  I was needed at the shop though, and I did have a good time working with "the kids", Mig, and Scooter.  The five of us work extremely well together, so it made for a fun day of work at CBC.  

I did get a great 30 mile ride in after school on Friday.  I wanted to see how fast I could ride 20 miles.  I have an exact 30 mile course out of our driveway, which has some decent climbs, but is mostly flat.  I did experience quite a bit of head wind as I traveled west, but I ended up keeping a solid 20 mph average.  I didn't think that was too bad considering it is just February, I had some steep hills, and I had to stop several times for traffic and red lights.  I can only get faster.  

I don't know if I have mentioned this in any earlier posts, but I am trying to get a lot of miles and ride time in not only for the upcoming road racing season, but also for the Cohutta 100.  I have a link to this event under my links.  This is a 100 mile mountain bike race down at one of my favorite places to ride in the world, the Ocoee (Tanasi trail system).  I believe Floyd Landis will be competing this year,  but also one of my good friends Carol Ann Lawhon.  She has raced the previous two years of the race.  Last year she raced the 100 on her single speed, but this year she will be riding gears again like her first year of the competition.  Her friend Leslie who comes in from California with her is a pro for Niner bikes and Leslie kicked serious butt last year completing the race in like 10 hours or something crazy like that.  I think she got 4th place overall for the women.  The three women who beat her were all on gears.  I originally wanted to race my single speed (I hate shifting and if I have a mechanical problem, I can probably fix it), but Smap talked me out of the single speed for my first year doing the race.  Looks like I will be riding gears...new gears though.  Hopefully my new Fisher hifi carbon will be here in decent time for me to get use to it.  I tried to go back to gears some last fall while training for the 12 hours of Haw Ridge, but my single speed just made a better and faster ride for me.  I am just really confident on that bike.  

So, we will see.  Cohutta is April 19th!  I hope it is DRY!!!!  

Cheers for now!  Rach